2021 Sustainable Travel Report
At a glance
- 72% of UK travellers view sustainable travel as vital; 43% say pandemic motivated them to travel more sustainably.
- 64% of UK travellers want sustainable accommodation next year, up from 50% in 2020 and 44% in 2016.
- 82% of accommodation providers view sustainability as important, but only 31% proactively communicate efforts to guests.
- 51% of UK travellers have not stayed in sustainable property; 55% believe insufficient options exist in 2021.
What the report covers
Booking.com's 2021 Sustainable Travel Report surveyed 29,349 travellers across 30 countries and 3,390 accommodation providers to assess pandemic-driven shifts in sustainable travel intent and behaviour. The research measures traveller priorities, barriers to sustainable accommodation adoption, and alignment between guest expectations and provider practices, published June 2021.
Key findings
The pandemic crystallised sustainability commitments. According to the survey, 70% of UK travellers believe immediate action is necessary to preserve the planet, and 43% state the pandemic motivated them to travel more sustainably. Beyond travel, 55% report the pandemic shifted everyday behaviour positively, with recycling (52%) and reducing food waste (49%) as top home priorities.
Traveller intentions substantially exceed past actions. Among UK respondents, 85% want to reduce general waste, 83% wish to lower energy consumption, and 80% prefer environmentally friendly transport. Yet reported past-year actions are lower: 34% turned off air conditioning/heating when absent, 36% brought reusable water bottles, and 27% undertook community-supporting activities.
Significant barriers persist despite rising demand. While 64% of UK travellers want sustainable accommodation in 2021—up from 50% pre-pandemic—51% have not stayed in such properties. Among non-users, 32% were unaware sustainable options exist, 33% found no options in chosen destinations, and 27% did not know how to locate them. Overall, 55% believe insufficient options are available.
Accommodation providers implement sustainability but fail to communicate it. Among 3,390 provider respondents, 82% view sustainability as important and 75% report implementing sustainable measures. Yet only 31% proactively communicate these efforts to potential guests, with 59% doing so only at check-in. Separately, 58% of UK travellers report annoyance when accommodation prevents sustainable choices.
Key numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| UK travellers believing people must act now to save the planet | 70% |
| UK travellers whose pandemic experience motivated more sustainable travel | 43% |
| UK travellers wanting sustainable accommodation in upcoming year | 64% |
| Accommodation providers viewing sustainability as important | 82% |
| UK travellers who have not stayed in sustainable property in past year | 51% |
| UK travellers who want to reduce general waste | 85% |
| UK travellers willing to avoid popular destinations to prevent overcrowding | 74% |
Figures as published in the source; forecasts and survey results are labelled as such in the note.
Why it matters
DMOs & destinations
74% of UK travellers willing to avoid overcrowded attractions and divert spend to less-visited communities. DMOs can leverage this pro-dispersal sentiment to market secondary destinations. However, 55% believe sustainable options are scarce, creating opportunity for destination-wide certification and transparent sustainability communication.
Hotels & hospitality
Critical communication failure exists: 75% of hotels implement sustainability, but only 31% actively market these efforts. Travellers penalise properties for enabling unsustainable practices (58% report annoyance) yet lack visibility of sustainable options. Hotels should shift from check-in disclosure to pre-booking transparency via third-party certifications and platform visibility.
Travel tech & distribution
Search and filtering for sustainability is persistent friction: 27% of interested UK travellers don't know how to find sustainable properties, and 33% find no options in chosen destinations. Distribution platforms can differentiate offerings by adopting standardised certification displays and sustainability filtering to capture growing demand from conscious travellers.
Methodology and limits
Booking.com commissioned independent online survey research conducted March 2021 among 29,349 respondents across 30 countries (1,000 UK respondents included). Eligibility: aged 18+, travelled within past 12 months, planning 2021 travel, involved in travel decision-making. Separate survey conducted April 2021 among 3,390 accommodation providers across 20 countries. Online format; no sampling error margins provided in source.
Official source
The report is © Booking.com. This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel — it quotes only figures published in the source and never reproduces the document.
Check the official statistics on Pulse
Related reports
Booking.com's 2026 European Accommodation Barometer, based on 1,240 accommodation leaders across Europe, shows resilience tempered by operational fragmentation. While 66% expect positive development, chains report 72% confidence versus 55% of independents.
Research commissioned by Booking.com and conducted by Oxford Economics quantifies the platform's economic contribution to Europe in 2025.
Booking.com's 2026 Travel & Sustainability Report reveals climate uncertainty as a primary reshaper of global travel behavior.
Booking.com's 2026 travel predictions, drawn from a survey of over 29,000 travellers across 33 countries, identify ten emerging trends centred on authenticity and personalised experiences.